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By JACK ROSSI
hawkeyesports.com
EUGENE, Ore. — Junior Mar’yea Harris’ 400 meter school record propelled him through the NCAA semifinals, senior Will Dougherty completed the first day of the decathlon, and the University of Iowa track and field team left Hayward Field with five more All-Americans on Wednesday.
The 2018 NCAA Track and Field Outdoor Championships began Wednesday with the men’s events where nine Hawkeyes competed in eight events. Iowa earned All-America honors in the 110-meter hurdles and the 1,600-meter relay.
DECATHLON
Dougherty concluded the first day of the decathlon with 3,349 points and currently sits in 16th place. Dougherty, who is competing in his third straight NCAA decathlon, says despite his place, he had his best first day of competition yet.
“This is definitely the best day one I have had at nationals,” Dougherty said. “It’s a big stage and sometimes you can get caught up in the hype of it all, but going into today and it being the last decathlon of my career, I stayed relaxed, battled through any injuries I had and put everything out there.”
Dougherty started the day off in the 100 meters by tying his personal best with a time of 11.02. His highest finish of the day came in the shot put where Dougherty recorded a second place finish overall with a mark of 46-feet 11.75-inches (14.32 meters).
Dougherty begins the final day of the decathlon Thursday at noon (CT).
ALL-AMERICANS
The Hawkeyes earned All-Americans in the 110-meter hurdles and 1,600-meter relay on Wednesday.
Junior Chris Douglas earned the honor for the first time in his career with a 11th place finish in the 110-meter hurdles. Douglas ran 13.76 to improve upon his personal best and move into a tie for sixth in program history.
The men’s 1,600-meter relay of Harris, junior DeJuan Frye, and sophomores Antonio Woodard and Collin Hofacker were named All-Americans in the event for the second consecutive year. The group ran the 10th fastest time in program history at 3:04.93 for second team All-America honors.
FIGHT FOR IOWA
- Sophomore Matt Manternach ran in his first NCAA Championships in the 800 meters. Manternach finished 17th with a time of 1:50.58.
- In Douglas’ second event of the day, the 400-meter hurdles, he finished 18th with a time of 52.16.
- Junior Reno Tuufuli competed in the first of two events this week with the shot put on Wednesday. Tuufuli finished 23rd with a best mark of 58-feet 8.5-inches (17.89 meters).
- The men’s 4×100 meter relay ran in their sixth straight NCAA Championships and finished 17th with a time of 39.63.
UP NEXT
The 2018 NCAA Track and Field Outdoor Championships continue tomorrow with the final five events of the decathlon and the women’s first day of competition. Brittany Brown begins Iowa’s events on the women’s side with the 100 meters at 7:16 p.m. (CT).
